Kacey Roberts
General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems business has finished building a simulator that will be used in preparation for a space mission intended to monitor and measure solar activities relevant to the Earth’s climate.
The company said Monday General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems delivered the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 spacecraft simulator to the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, which was tasked to add monitor sensors to the TSIS-2.
NASA previously tapped GA-EMS for the space vehicle development work, including payload integration and testing as well as mission operations support.
“The spacecraft simulator allows us to check the communication and functionality of the TSIS-2 payload onboard our GA-150 satellite bus in preparation for satellite operations,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS.
The simulator is designed for sending and verifying commands, receiving health and status telemetry as well as science and analog thermistor data and specific command file uploads. It is also capable of testing system performance, payload interfaces and pre-flight functions.
